Satyam case: 'Grade hitch' for court

HYDERABAD: Though the judiciary on Wednesday formally announced the commencement of work and beginning of a special court exclusively for trying all Satyam cases, the legal possibility of bringing all Satyam cases under one roof looks bleak in the near future.
It was the CBI, which is investigating the Satyam scam, that had sought a special court exclusively to try all cases that fall under the scam pertaining to B Ramalinga Raju, the disgraced owner of Satyam Computer Services.
Following the request, a full court of the A P High Court accorded its approval for the same and forwarded the request to the state. The state in turn sanctioned the finances and the manpower for setting up the same.
The special Satyam court is headed by senior civil judge B V L N Chakravarthy, whose post is one grade lower than a district judge. The enforcement directorate (ED) which has attached more than Rs 1,000 crore worth of assets from the accused in the Satyam scam, mainly plots and flats situated all over the nation, is soon going to launch its prosecution proceedings in the special court meant exclusively for trying its cases. This court is headed by a district judge.
Technically speaking, the cases that fall under the purview of a district judge cannot be transferred to a court (now Satyam court) that is headed by a senior civil judge. Similarly, the cases launched by the serious fraud investigation office (SFIO) of the corporate affairs ministry against the accused directors of erstwhile Satyam Computers and others are being heard by an economic offences court which again is being headed by a district judge. Even these cases cannot be transferred to the Satyam special court.
Metropolitan sessions judge of Hyderabad M Vijaya Lakshmi told TOI on Wednesday that they are discussing the issue and will soon come out with a solution for this issue.
Moreover, the criminal cases being heard against the Rajus in Mumbai criminal courts too cannot be transferred to the special court here unless it is approved by the Supreme Court because such inter-state transfers are in the domain of the apex court.
This apart, the Sebi and ED have their own adjudicating authorities at Delhi and Mumbai. The appeals against an ED court order will have to be filed before a tribunal set up under Prevention of money laundering Act (PMLV Act) at New Delhi and further appeals will go to High Court and Supreme Court.
Lack of political will to tackle the Satyam challenge in a comprehensive way at the apex level is very much visible, a legal source commented.
However, the Satyam special court will have enough work because it has to deal with the CBI cases that were filed with all their voluminous records, documents etc.